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Koufax

Koufax@wyrms.de

Joined 1 year, 10 months ago

Generally, I read all kinds of books. That said, some time ago I decided to revisit my old love science fiction. So I am mostly reading that currently, and baseball books.

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Koufax's books

Currently Reading

Stopped Reading

Nathan Lowell: In Ashes Born (Paperback, 2016, Durandus) 3 stars

Trivial

3 stars

This is the lightest SF that I have read over the last few years. The whole series is for when you want to switch off your brain and just read about nice people doing not very exciting things in space. Recommended when life becomes too much. This part is very, very slow moving. Quite some annoying fan service. The earlier parts are more fun.

Sequoia Nagamatsu: How High We Go in the Dark (Hardcover, 2022, William Morrow) 4 stars

Beginning in 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work …

Death, death, and death

5 stars

On the first few pages, an ancient virus is released to the world. Then people start dying.

This is not so much a novel as a collection of short stories that are connected by the world, and sometimes share some of the characters. All stories deal with different aspects of how a pandemic plays out if it is really bad. There is no cure, no real treatment, people suffer, die, lose friends, family and hope, grieve. For 300 pages.

This might sound bleak, because it really is. Some of the stories messed me up a lot. But at the same time, the stories, how they relate, most of the characters, are fascinating and beautiful. So I do recommend this, but be warned that it can be tough.

Ruthanna Emrys: A Half-Built Garden (EBook, 2022, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 4 stars

On a warm March night in 2083, Judy Wallach-Stevens wakes to a warning of unknown …

Could have been nice

3 stars

I like the whole idea and the world. But I feel that this book would have needed a good editor. In large parts not much happens, only endless talking. Also, the characters needed more work: most of them have a single defining characteristic, and we learn nothing else about them. This is true even for relatively central characters, like the wife of the main character, the co-parents, essentially all the aliens. Maybe there are simply too many characters to flesh them out? For example, the main character has three parents (to signal diversity?), but we learn nothing about the two mothers - they appear, but don't really do anything. Instead, additionally, an aunt is introduced that has a single defining character trait (something about technology). Why not simply merge her into one of the parents? A similar approach for other characters could have kept the number of characters at a …